Project:2020
Conclusion: 2021
OTB Burger is a new street commerce concept born in the pandemic. Rarely can the work of an architectural project be measured quantitatively when it comes to the commercial field, in this case it was different. It is neither a conventional restaurant nor a “dark kitchen”. We can call it “light kitchen”, the fusion between the production infrastructure and a flagship store, installed in the city according to logistical efficiency.
The hamburger delivery business in Pouso Alegre, a city of 200,000 inhabitants in the interior of Brazil, was born as an idea of an MVP of its creator, an internet banking programmer. After a few months of operation in a garage – and its financial viability proved – it was necessary to relocate its kitchen, both to adapt to hygiene standards and to achieve a greater radius of deliveries.
Designed and built amidst the early events of COVID, it is neither a conventional restaurant nor a dark-kitchen. “Miguel Croce's participation was decisive in the results achieved in the new stage of OTB as a business, from consulting on the choice of location in the city to the final design.” Says André Machado, entrepreneur. “It is not just a design, but a complete conception that helped define the brilliant present that we are experiencing today as a brand”
It was the architect's first authorial project after some time working in some of the most renowned and innovative architecture firms in Brazil. However, the lack of space was a challenge: “The fact of being so small, less than 32m2, was the biggest difficulty and also the biggest incentive for new solutions since I found myself in a position where I needed to practice the synthesis of the entire experience acquired in the last years designing for others. It was necessary to obtain the maximum quality in the smallest space possible. No concessions for an 'architectural gesture', not an inch wasted.”
The project represented an enormous effort that involves the crossing of several disciplines, both tangible as parameters for commercial kitchens, exhaust, electric and hydraulic, as well as intangible ones such as brand concepts and interaction with the public.
“Each architectural element solves more than one problem simultaneously. The facade is at the same time an advertising piece, insertion of the brand in the urban landscape, kitchen ventilation interface, protection from the weather for customers and a security door. the cabin service organizes the flow of products, supports the employee and also serves as a stock of non-perishable inputs.”
From the financial point of view, the construction was cheaper compared to others in the same segment. “We chose the highest quality materials at the best possible price, there was no room for any superlatives, everything here is absolutely necessary to exist the way it exists.” Complete the architect.
As one of the original bar's gates was damaged and had to be replaced, the opportunity arose to design a completely new facade. The investment that, at first, would be destined to the renovation of the conventional gate was destined to the design and production of a custom-made gate-interface with the street, as an artifact specially made for the site.
It is an experience of OTB's brand values. In addition to following the process, the customer listens to the music coming out of the installed speakers and can take a picture in the place destined for Selfies.
What makes OTB a delivery different is that you can actually watch the production process from the kitchen. Diametrically opposed to dark kitchens, where we are always suspicious of the conditions under which the food is made. You don't have to see your food being cooked every time, just once and the certainty that the kitchen is always open to anyone passing by on the street. This increases trust and allows the brand to practice values above competitors. It is contrary to the situation of constant distrust that we live in today in cities, it is not “dark”, it is a “light kitchen”: It does not hide, but shows.
“It's great, working in the kitchen at OTB is feeling like a football player entering the field, we are dressed in uniform and people stop to see you work, it makes us try harder and the customer feels that their burger is made with care and quality” says the Founder of OTB, “and it is also good for us because we have to spend many hours a day in the same place, we can follow the street movement and we are not alienated inside a hot and closed kitchen” he adds.
Even though they are only 35m2, it has an unexpected 105m2 of facade. So the complexity involved to make it all work is surprising.